Supported by expert advice, Itaipu has conducted three major activities to set the themes for the 2015 Sustainability Report: review of the materiality process and materials selected in the last three years (2014, 2013, 2012); compilation and analysis of potentially relevant topics for the company in the year 2015, considering the prospects of the Brazilian electricity sector, other stakeholders of the relevant organization and themes for sustainability; and consultation of stakeholders perceptions for prioritization of relevant topics.
In order to compile and analyze the relevant topics, research has been carried out into sources of Itaipu itself, such as the 2015 Annual Report, the answers provided by Itaipu to Eletrobras to the Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE) questionnaire of BM&F Bovespa, and the supplier survey carried out in 2015. We have also carried out research in external secondary sources such as 54 reports in the media related to various categories of Itaipu stakeholders and sustainability, the base survey of the International Hydropower Association Assessment Protocol (IHA) and industry reports, including [+] research carried out by GRI and RobecoSam in 2016 on material topics for investors in the electricity sector1.
Internal stakeholders were consulted through interviews (in total, ten Planning, Operation, Internal Audit, Technical and Coordination, IHA protocol, Human Resource and Indigenous Community Relation representatives were interviewed); two workshops attended by 41 employees; in addition to consultations with Investor Relations of Eletrobras, Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) representatives. Consultations with internal and external Paraguayan stakeholders were not performed.
Analysis and consolidation of the results took into account: checking the principle of inclusion of stakeholders and context of sustainability to the set of topics raised; award of the degree of impact and importance of the topic for stakeholders (materiality matrix) and prioritization; correlation of topics with the aspects and indicators of GRI G4; partial implementation of the principle of completeness; and validation with the board.
The limits of the topics and issues reported in 2015 within the organization (where the impacts related to the topic or material aspect took place) refer to the operation in Brazil. In order to define the boundaries of topics and material aspects outside the organization, it was considered the perception of stakeholders consulted on the scope of the impacts related to these topics. One cannot state the presence or absence of such impacts outside the organization, as systematic and formal process of impact assessment has not been carried out.
